The reply letter from the general army of Datong Town to the Manchurian Khan was written very directly, without the slightest bit of the literati.

The letter stated that since the Manchurian Khan was willing to honor the Son of Heaven of the Ming Dynasty, it was possible for the two families to make peace.

The general army of Datong Town is willing to mediate this matter. At the same time, the Manchurian side must also show its sincerity and not get closer to victory.

The Manchurian Khan's peace letter had been delivered to the governor of Datong and the eunuchs of Datong's surveillance, and was now on its way to the yamen of the governor of Xuanda in Yanghecheng. The governor of Datong was currently involved in a lawsuit from the imperial court, and while he was awaiting impeachment, it was best for the Manchurian Khan to move to Shoukou Fort or Xinping Fort in Yanghe Province, where the two sides would negotiate.

Abahai read the letter back and forth several times.

This is the first reply letter from the general army level of the Ming Dynasty since Chongzhen ascended the throne, in addition to the original soil emperor Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town.

For the sake of prudence, Abahai invited the Great Bel Dai Shan, the original Three Bel Mang Gurtai.

The Great Belle Daishan controls the two red flags. This morning Dai Shan has made it clear that the Lord is peaceful.

Although Mang Gurtai has been removed from his position in Baylor, he has been controlling Zhenglan Banner through his younger brother Degray. Mang Gurtai has a reckless personality and has a high prestige in the Zhenglan Banner, and Abahai fears that he will lead the battle.

Abahai plans to unite with Daishan to convince Mang Gurtai.

……

At the same time, the general army of Datong Town has come to Fort Victory.

Ma Zongbing brought with him all the troops he could mobilize, a total of three hundred and sixty-seven men.

That's right, it's just three hundred and sixty-seven.

The Ming Dynasty implemented the system of literature and military force, and the size of the system. There are 83,144 officers and soldiers in Datong Town, and it is these 367 people that General Ma's soldiers can directly mobilize. And even with a mere 367 people, Ma Zongbing has already violated the imperial court system.

According to the establishment of the imperial court, the Datong general army commanded 88 personal soldiers and 54 horses. This is the maximum number of troops that Ma Zongbing can directly mobilize in name.

The power to dispatch troops in Datong Town is in the hands of the civilian governor. According to the order, there are 4,296 officers and soldiers in the governor's standard battalion in Datong City, 1,137 in the regular barracks, 1,911 in the guerrilla battalion, 1,900 in the border barracks, 2,800 in the Shenji battalion, 1,600 Datong guards and 1,600 officers and soldiers in the Datong guards, and 1,000 guards in the palace on behalf of the king, all of whom belong to the Fuyuan control. Without the governor's military order, the general army of Datong could not be transferred out of a single person or a horse.

It is not uncommon for the Ma general soldiers to mobilize the officers and soldiers of the Fuyuan, and the 367 people who followed the Ma general soldiers to the victory fort this time are all Ma family members, and the combat effectiveness of these family members alone can withstand 20 people in the official army! As long as Mr. Ma gives an order, none of these family members will take half a step back when the battle starts!

Why did the Ming Dynasty have so many generals? Because of the family.

If the family is powerful, the family will be a fierce general as long as they send a nephew casually. And vice versa, if a strong general is not allowed to go out with his family, the so-called strong general is nothing.

The Ma family's family can spend as much as fifty people in the official army. In order to feed these families, Mr. Ma did not think less. He not only used all the troops of the standard battalion, but also squeezed out a lot of troops from the places where he was descended, such as Fort Kill Hu and Fort of Victory, and also participated in the business with the merchants of Datong, and tried his best to get the governor of Datong and the eunuchs of Datong to go into the water together.

This can't be blamed on General Ma, the generals of the entire Ming Dynasty are like this.

Among the 367 family members of Ma Zongbing, including the 26 family members brought by Man Goose from Kill Hu Fort, but not including the Kill Hu Fort garrison Ma Shi who left his post without permission.

Ma Shi and Man Goose brought the allied pomegranate mines from Fort Hu.

The general of Deshengbao changed his yamen into a temporary marshal's mansion, and the old man Ma sent troops and generals in the middle. Ma Shi, Man Ge and Ma Jiading all went to the Great Wall, and the officers and soldiers of the Victory Fort led by the general "Zhuzi" were on full alert and ready to support at any time.

……

In the yamen of the governor of Datong, Chen Qiyu asked Zhang Tinggong:

"Ma Zongzhen openly raises private soldiers, and in the long run, he will inevitably take the soldiers to respect himself and not obey orders, why doesn't the boss restrain him?"

Zhang Tinggong replied: "Yuxuan, you only saw one side. Have you ever thought about the other side, once there is a war, what the court can count on is actually the private soldiers of these generals? ”

Zhang Tinggong asked slowly: "The heaviest person who raises private soldiers is none other than Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town. The heaviest person who does not listen to orders is none other than Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town. But without Mao Wenlong, can there be any improvement in the war in Liaodong? ”

Chen Qiyu smiled bitterly.

Since Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong, the Ningjin defense line of the imperial court has lost its containment, and Jiannu can besiege the Daling River with impunity. The officers and soldiers of Dongjiang Town only recognized Mao Dashuai, and finally provoked a mutiny in Shandong, coupled with the civil unrest in the northwest, the imperial court was difficult to support.

Chen Qiyu couldn't help sighing: "Yuan Chonghuan is good at killing Mao Wenlong, it is no less than self-destruction of the Great Wall, and it is not a pity to die!" ”

Unexpectedly, Zhang Tinggong smiled.

"It's true that Yuan Manzi has a ruthlessness in doing things, but Yuan Chonghuan is also from a Jinshi! He killed Mao Wenlong not because of a moment of anger, but because he had premeditated it in advance. Can't he weigh the priorities of this? ”

"Just by virtue of his status as a superintendent and a Shang Fang sword, does he dare to kill Bian Shuai? You must know that Shang Fang's sword can only be cut below the deputy general, and Mao Wenlong, as the chief soldier, also has a royal Shang Fang sword! ”

Zhang Tinggong asked unhurriedly, "Who gave him such courage?" ”

Chen Qiyu was shocked. There is only one person in the world who can give Yuan Chonghuan this courage!

At that time, the emperor was newly enthroned, and he overthrew the eunuch party in one fell swoop, and all the officials praised it. The emperor was high-spirited and did everything himself, replacing five first assistants within a year. The war in Liaodong was not so much that Yuan Chonghuan was supervising, but that the emperor was in remote control.

Chen Qiyu exclaimed: "Could it be that Yuan Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong is not an edict?!" ”

Zhang Tinggong avoided answering, and said about it left and right: "Yuxuan, in the future, I hope you can say something for me." ”

……

Outside the mouth of victory, in the tent of the Manchurian army, the great Belle Daishan persuaded Mang Gurtai:

"According to Xi Zuobing, the emperor of the southern kingdom wants to destroy the Great Wall! What my Manchurian army feared was nothing more than the red-coated cannon cast by Sun Yuanhua with the help of the red hair. Now the court in the south wants to kill Sun Yuanhua and others. As soon as Sun Yuanhua dies, the red hair must be cold, and the matter of casting cannons must be stopped. Two years ago, we got a sample cannon and learned how to cast a cannon through meticulous work, and this time we made peace with the southern country, so we can go all out to cast cannons. As long as it takes two or three years, with enough armored soldiers in Manchuria and enough red-coated cannons, it will be effortless to attack the cities of the Ming Kingdom, and the wealth obtained when entering the Ming Realm will be unimaginably large! ”

To the surprise of Abahai and Daishan, Mang Gurtai supported peace as soon as he opened his mouth:

"Since peace is being made, it is reasonable for the general army of Datong to ask the Manchurian army not to approach the victory point again. If the letter does not make such a request, I feel that it is a fraud. ”

Mang Gurtai said: "It is also a good idea for the Datong General Soldier to suggest that the Eight Banners Army move to Yanghe. There is no need for us to spend time on the way here, I suggest that we march east while discussing the peace with the army, and go to Zhangjiakou as soon as possible to join the Azig division. ”

Abahai's heart was suddenly full of vigilance, and he asked suspiciously: "Mang Gurtai, so you support peace?" ”

Mang Gurtai replied: "When the army goes to Zhangjiakou to meet the division, it will be war or peace, and then it will be a hammer deal!" ”

Abahai pondered for a moment and ordered: Tomorrow, Kurchan led 50 people per banner to return the Ming army, and then extended the border wall to demonstrate eastward. The army avoided the victory and continued to march eastward.